Every Singaporean son is required by law to serve the nation as part of the nationâs defence force. Â Enlistment day is an important milestone for every 18 or 19 year old as it signifies the transition from boy to man. Â Suddenly, thereâs no mum or Maria to do the laundry or dad to replace the belongings one has lost/damaged. Â For those who enlist in the SAF, it means a 3 month stint on oneâs exclusive tropical island named Pulau Tekong. For those who enlist in SPF, well many âjoyridesâ on our nationâs MRT trains awaits you. Â For the minority who enlist in the Commandoâs unit, I hear you have ice cream for dessert occasionally so thatâs something to look forward to!
Photo credit: Land Transport Guru
Pasir Ris Bus Interchange to SAF Ferry Terminal â approx. 20 minutes*
Your journey to Tekong begins at Pasir Ris Bus Interchange about 45 minutes before your assigned enlistment time. Â Here, a shuttle service (they use really nice coaches) will take you, your family, your friends etc to the SAF Ferry Terminal where youâll get to see planes take off all day.
 SAF Ferry Terminal to Pulau Tekong â approx. 15 minutes*
At SAF Ferry Terminal, the bags of enlistees will be subjected to an x-ray scan and everyone will have to go through a metal detector so please donât bring anything that would put you on the no âferry listâ. Â Enlistment Tip No. 1: Bring whatever snacks or goodies you canât live without as they wonât throw any of it out during this book in but they will for subsequent book ins.
  Donât forget to bring your NRIC or some form of identification card with a bar code as youâll need to get that scanned before you can set foot on the ferry.  Youâll also be needing a small pink ticket if youâre accompanying an enlistee which should have come in the mail with the enlistment letter.  If you are one who usually experiences motion sickness, you need not worry as you will be transported to Pulau Tekong in style on a large, fully air-conditioned craft.
 Tour of Pulau Tekong â approx. 3 hours*
Upon arrival at Pulau Tekong, visitors and enlistees will part ways. Â Visitors will proceed on a tour of the island while enlistees will proceed to the auditorium for a briefing on the programme for the day. Â You can leave your walking shoes at home as if you are a visitor, youâll be transported around the island on more âtour busesâ. Â Your first stop will be the bunks specially prepared for your âinspectionâ. Â Each bunk is said to be able to house up to 16 recruits and each recruit will have his own metal cupboard space to place his belongings. Â Also, look at how thick those mattress are; gone are the days when mattresses were about as thin as sheets of paper. Â Enlistment Tip No. 2: Beg, borrow or steal as many power banks as you can for you will not be allowed to charge your handphone in your bunk as it is a fire hazard. Â Yes, my intel is solid and comes straight from the Commander of BMTC 1âs briefing.
 Next, youâll be led to a lecture theatre, yes you heard right, a lecture theatre where you will be briefed on the type of equipment the enlistees will be provided with.  For those with high arches, you need not worry as the SAF will give you a special pair of Adidas running shoes to help you cope better. đ  You will also be pleased to know that the Full Battle Order (FBO) weighs about 12kg which is about the weight of an E-Scooter so if you can manage that on trains, you wonât face any problems with this!
 We were supposed to go to a gallery to be educated on the journey of an NSF, however we were short on time so we were sent straight to the Auditorium.  For future enlistees, your life as a soldier would have begun by now as in the Auditorium, every single one of you will be required to sit at attention for the entire duration of the briefing.  At the end of the talk, youâd be met with a situation very much resembling that of baggage claim where your friends and family will walk past you like a convey belt till you âclaimâ them and proceed to the cookhouse.
 Now hereâs the best part! This generation of enlistees should not have the same complains of past generations as the food provided by the cookhouse is now outsourced to private contractors for preparation.  The food (rice, chicken thigh, mashed potato, boiled carrots and broccoli, mushroom soup and sweet bun) which is available in halal, vegetarian or non-halal is both nutritious and delicious, plus you even get dessert! Just to give you an idea of how good it was, I was so busy eating that I completely forgot to snap a photo of it for you.  Do eat quickly though as following this last meal, enlistees will have to say their goodbyes, disappearing into the abyss that is BMT (their words not mine) for the next 2 weeks.  However, getting rid of them isnât that easy for they will be given an hour each day from 9.30pm to 10.30pm to contact whoever they please. (I can already hear NSFs everywhere cursing me for letting you in on this secret as theyâve now lost their number one excuse for not contacting people HAHAH)
 There you have it! Everything you need to know about enlistment day (mostly from the perspective of a visitor).  As I am feeling particularly charitable today, Iâll give you 2 Enlistment Tips for making it to the end.
Enlistment Tip No. 3a: Shave you head before enlisting. Â Trust me. Â Youâll thank me later.
Enlistment Tip No. 3b: This will take about 5.5 hours in total (including getting back to Pasir Ris Bus Interchange) so clear your schedule for the day as thereâs no way off Tekong but by ferry. đ
*All durations provided are estimates and may vary based on waiting time.
 Guide to Enlisting at Pulau Tekong (NS Special) Every Singaporean son is required by law to serve the nation as part of the nation's defence force. Â
